Jerry Brown Makes It Official

Now California Democrats officially have a candidate for governor.

After months of heavy, heavy hints, Attorney General Jerry Brown made it official Tuesday, formally declaring his candidacy for the state’s highest elected office.

Brown, 71, is looking to return to the office he held for two terms in the 1970s and 1980s.

“The next governor must have the preparation, the knowledge, and the know-how to get California working again,” Brown said in his official announcement, posted on YouTube. “That’s what I offer.”

Brown’s two terms predate term limits on the governor’s office, making him free to run again this year and then for another term in 2014 if he succeeds.

Brown will get a free pass to the general election, with no Democrats signed up to compete against him in the June primary.

He will face one of two wealthy Republican businessmen in November, either former EBay chief executive Meg Whitman, or former tech entrepreneur Steve Poizner, currently the state’s elected insurance commissioner.

Though Brown has raised millions of dollars, he’ll have less to spend than either GOP challenger.

“Some people say that if you’ve been around the process you can’t handle the job, and that we need to find an outsider who knows virtually nothing about state government,” Brown said in his announcement. “We tried that and it doesn’t work.”

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